Page 59 of The San Marco Heist

“The pool’s nice, but the party’s getting all the attention. The security guy stopped at this end, then headed back. I’m moving closer to the north side and the party to have a look.”

“Careful.”

“Just one guy I can see.”

I didn’t need to remind him of the plan, but for some reason I did anyway. “Don’t forget to watch out for signs of another team working the event.”

Malcolm drew in a slow breath. “I know.”

“I’m leaving the family room for the backyard.”

Jayce and Declan would cross the roof in silence. Eyes out for security, avoiding the view of the dormer windows, and listening for our guidance. The original plan included Will monitoring with another drone, but he had nothing small enough to go undetected with so many guests and a security team in place.

The second plan included Brie hacking into their security system and watching through their own feed. But the system was fully contained within the house, with no access from the outside. Not enough time to tap any hard wires, either.

The third plan included Rav monitoring with binoculars, but the house had too many trees around it. It was also too far from the road for him to both stay in the car and see anything.

So old-fashioned eyeballs were what we had.

I crossed the stone terrace behind the house, decorated with a half dozen patio heaters, interspersed between more lemon tree urns and three-foot-tall pillar candles in giant hurricane vases. My phone went into my clutch as I turned to walk backward a few steps, surveying the house. “I only see one guard up there. He’s on his way to the east end, so you should be clear to the west and the staircase.”

Two taps came over the comms, Jayce’s signal that they were still moving forward.

Malcolm said, “No guards here and no one inside the staircase. You’re clear from my sight.”

Please be right, Malcolm. Just please.

Chapter 24

Malcolm

Theoutdoorpooldeckwas covered in stone, like that covering the house. Pale and smooth, cut into immaculate rectangles of various sizes. It produced an organic feel—chaotic, yet predictable.

I glanced at the house, with its turret-like staircase, which Jayce and Declan were targeting. The security guard was on his way to the other side, and no one else was in the area.

Behind me, a close-cropped lawn extended beyond the stones, leading to gardens with a few early blooms. Beyond that, the boxwood hedge. We’d reviewed the last moments of the drone’s life before Brie lost it in the bushes, so my unspoken goal was to find it. Maybe win a few points.

I nodded, pacing back and forth on the far side of the pool, pretending to talk on the phone. No one could excuse a businessman for needing an escape from the hubbub for a call.

The party had ramped up, the music more muted than some guests probably wanted. Rav’s contact had indicated it would end at eleven thirty, a concession to their neighbors who preferred a silent evening.

“Still clear at this end, on the roof walkway and in the stairwell.”

Two taps on the comms were followed by Scarlett’s terse, “Homeowners are on the dance floor with the bride and groom.”

The stairs were in a two-story turret off the side of the house. The top was crowned with a circular paned skylight that appeared on the drone video as though it could be opened. That was Plan A. Plan B would be to use the glass cutters and pull a section out of the top.

Plan C was all Jayce—swing down into one of the side windows. Too high risk of visibility for Scarlett and too high risk of broken limbs for Declan. There’d been some good-natured ribbing about his fear of heights, which he claimed was a lie. Then Scarlett went off on a tangent about an escapade they’d had when they were fourteen. The two had broken into fits of laughter, and only a portion of the story had been intelligible. From the reactions of the others, the story had been recounted many times.

I didn’t have a single person in my life I shared stories like that with. Once upon a time, I’d been close with my father, but then—

“Lucius Stone!” I spun to see Bruce White approaching from the other side of the pool.

Shit.

I held up a finger and tucked my head as though I were finishing a call. Under my breath, I said, “The architect’s here.”

“Tabarnak,” hissed Rav.

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